>> mason: tonight, the economy stuck in the slow lane. for the third straight month, hiring disappoints as the issue dominates the presidential campaign. >> it's still tough out there. >> it this kick in the gut has got to end. >> mason: reports from rebecca jarvis, norah o'donnell and jan crawford. the search for shade-- any shade. michelle miller on the relentless heat wave and why it just won't break. the president approves student loan relief, but will it be enough to help families struggling with college debt? >> $80,000. that's more than we paid for our home. >> reporter: elaine quijano reports. and steve hartman "on the road" with the most beloved member of fire station 1. >> he's really special. i can't put it into words. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. >> mason: good evening, scott is

off, i'm anthony mason. the recession officially ended three years ago but today's jobs report is more proof the recovery is painfully slow. the june unemployment rate was 8.2%-- unchanged from may but employers added just 80,000 jobs. that's three straight months of disappointing job creation after a four-month stretch where growth was in the hundreds of thousands. it was the main issue today on the presidential campaign trail we have three reports beginning with rebecca jarvis. rebecca, those 80,000 jobs just aren't enough, are they? >> reporter: they are not, anthony. our economy needs to add at least 125,000 new jobs every month just to keep up with population growth. at this pace it could take four more years for the u.s. job market to fully recovery from the great recession. how does it feel to look at a project like this that is thriving now? >> it's exciting. it's a relief.

it's thrilling. we're happy to be part of it. >> reporter: mark dinapoli is general manager at the suffolk construction company in boston. his company just hired 122 people to work on six new projects. >> the men and women of the trades have been without work for a long time. they're excited to be back to work and they're doing a great job for us. >> reporter: despite the modest pickup in boston construction, the number of unemployed americans and the unemployment rate have basically stayed the same since february. >> i don't think we should fall into the trap of thinking we're heading straight down. that's not the case. >> reporter: economist michael darda: >> we're making progress, just not fast enough to make everybody happy. >> reporter: workers added more hours to their week and wages increased slightly, a possibly sign of future job growth. >> if we can get better jobs figures for a few months those could self-reinforce each other

and create a feedback loop helping to push the business cycle forward. >> reporter: back in boston, dinapoli plans to keep adding jobs his companies project outnumber what they had in the height of the bidding boom if 2007. >> it's wonderful to see a project of this nature and many others take off in the city. >> reporter: the broader measure of unemployment-- which includes those who have given up their job search and have been forced to work part time-- is 14.9%, the highest level since february. >> mason: rebecca, we've both been doing stories on this. employers have been telling me things aren't great but okay. what have you been hearing? >> reporter: it's the same thing i'm hearing. they have learned how to do more with less and until demand picks up they are content to do business with the number of employees they have on hand. >> mason: rebecca, thanks. today's job numbers were not what president obama wanted to hear. chief white house correspondent norah o'donnell was with the president today.

>> reporter: and the best the president could claim was that the unemployment rate didn't go up and that any job added to the lagging economy is a step in the right direction. >> it didn't happen overnight so we weren't going to reverse it overnight. but we've been steady. >> reporter: it's clear the wesident didn't want to spend too much time dwelling on those disappointing job numbers. today he took less than two minutes before voters in poland ohio to acknowledge what many already know-- that in his words it's still tough out there. >> so we've got to grow the economy even faster. we have to put even more people back to work. >> reporter: there's no sign the economy will grow much faster before election day and that's why the president is trying to make the case that electing mitt romney, who is proposing $5 trillion in tax cuts, would mark a return to the republican policies that led to the economic mess. that kind of top-down economics has never worked. so we've got to have somebody who's fighting for you.

( applause ) somebody who's thinking about how to grow the economy from the middle out. from the bottom up. not from the top down. >> reporter: at his final rally in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, the president tested the theory that mitt romney's economic vision is no more than an election-year ploy. >> because they know that their economic theory isn't going to sell, so all they've got to argue is the economy's not moving as fast as it needs to, jobs aren't growing as fast as they need to and it's all obama's fault. that's basically their only message. ( boos ) now, i guess this is a plan to win an election, but it's not a plan to create jobs. >> reporter: now, the president didn't offer any new jobs plan of his own on this jobs tour. instead, pushing some of the same ideas he's been unable to get through the republican congress.

and, anthony, in the end, that's what this is about: shifting the focus away from what the president hasn't been able to do and trying to convince voters to that mitt romney in the words of one advisor would make things worse. >> mason: norah, thanks. the presumptive republican nominee was quick to pounce when the job report came out. jan crawford is quick to follow the campaign. jan? >> reporter: romney interrupted his family vacation to talk about the jobs report which he called "a kick in the gut" and he said president obama needed to stand up and take responsibility for it. >> the president doesn't have a plan, hasn't proposed any new ideas to get the economy going, just the same old ideas of the past that have failed. i have a plan. my plan calls for action that will get america working again and create have good jobs, both near term and long term. >> reporter: last fall, romney unveiled a 59-point economic plan that includes cutting corporate taxes and taxes for

people who make under $200,000 a year, tapping into energy resources to create jobs and cut fuel costs, and opening up new markets for trade overseas. critics say his ideas don't sound that new or specific and that he needs a bolder vision and a more focused message. but romney says the election will be a referendum on the president's performance. >> the american people have now had a chance to see whether his policies will help america and help them and help people looking for jobs or whether instead those policies are counterproductive when it comes to jobs. and i think the evidence is in, again and again and again. >> reporter: now, romney told cbs news this week that if he keeps talking about the economy, he will win. now, he's been off that message, as we've seen, he's gotten bogged down on health care reform after last week's supreme court decision but, anthony, this monthly jobs report really changes the subject back to the economy and that's why we saw romney talking today. >> mason: jan, thanks. gun violence continues to plague

president obama's hometown of chicago. three people were killed overnight, adding to the more than 270 homicides there so far this year. one of the victims, seven-year- old heaven sutton was remembered at a funeral today. she was selling candy near her home when she was hit by a stray bullet. the heat has been oppressive in chicago and across much of the country. temperatures climbed into the 90s and 100s yet again today and the humidity is making it feel worse. we've seen heat waves before but never like this. michelle miller looks at the toll it's taking. >> reporter: it's topped 90 degrees in new york for four days. chicago sweat through three straight days of 100 degrees and in washington it's been 95 degrees for nine days-- the longest stretch in 140 years. across the country, there have

been at least 13 heat-related deaths. chris burt is a meteorologist and weather historian. >> 18 significant weather sites in the united states with long periods of record have set their all time maximum temperatures. >> reporter: what's behind the historic heat is a warm air mass that began over the rockies, crept east and retreated back to the midwest. overheated lakes killed fish in wisconsin. in st. louis, one of the few places to find relief was a sliver of shadow under the gateway arch. in iowa, corn crops are in jeopardy. farmer andy hall says that's pushed corn prices up 15% this month. >> you can tell the corn is stressed. the leaves look like pineapples. >> reporter: in new york, they're keeping a close eye on the grid that provides power to nine million people. >> any time it get this is hot it concerns us. >> reporter: what worries you

when you face an extended period of record heat? >> the buildup of time of heat in the ground that can have an impact on equipment. >> reporter: it's a mere 91 degrees in times square. the mercury will rise to 100 tomorrow. anthony, the good news is meteorologists are forecasting the heat wave plaguing the midwest and east will break by monday. >> mason: good news, michelle. in times square, thank you very much. moving to syria, a top general has fled that country. he was a member of the inner circle of dictator bashar al- assad who's been trying to crush a rebellion. today secretary of state hillary clinton called the defection a promising development. she joined diplomats from a hundred nations in paris to pressure the regime to stop the violence. at least 9,000 people have been killed. clinton blasted russia and china for blocking u.n. sanctions against syria. >> i don't think russia and china believe they are paying

any price at all-- nothing at all-- for standing up on behalf of the assad regime. the only way that will change is if every nation represented here directly and urgently makes it clear that russia and china will pay a price. >> mason: margaret brennan is our state department correspondent. she joins us now from paris. margaret, the russians and chinese declined even to attend the syrian meeting in paris. so are secretary clinton's words likely to have any impact? >> that's a big question. we may not get an answer until new york because that will be the next front in this financial war, essentially, that secretary clinton asked to be waged against syria. so the next push will be at the u.n., for the security council to come forward with a resolution as soon as next week to freeze assets, members of the regime to embargo oil. the question, as you said it, is whether russia would not only support that but abide by it

given that they have overlooked those efforts up to this point. >> mason: and how significant is the defection of this syrian general? how big a blow to the assad regime is this? >> it could potentially have major ramifications because the brigadier general, tlass, is not only the highest-ranking command officer to we defect, he's also a long-time childhood friend of president bashar al-assad. in fact, their two families have a shared history. hafez al-assad, bashar's father, long-time president of that country, was served as defense minister by tlass' own father. so essentially this brigadier general's dad helped keep the assad family in control of syria for decades. so this defection is not only symbolic, it could have ramifications to perhaps cause others to defect as well. secretary clinton said herself that they are seeing more and more military members vote with their feet, as she put it, moving towards the right side of history. >> mason: margaret brennan in

paris. thanks, margaret. a man who was a c.e.o. for just one day walks away with $44 million. more parents are paying their children's college costs well into retirement. and could some newly discovered art be the work of an italian master, when the "cbs evening news" continues. do you often experience the feeling of a dry mouth? it can be the side effect of many medications. dry mouth can be frustrating... and ignoring it can lead to... sipping water can help, but dentists recommend biotene. biotene moisturizes and helps supplement some of saliva's enzymes, providing soothing relief when you need it most. don't ignore dry mouth... look for biotene in your oral care section today. this has been medifacts for biotene.

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>> mason: more than seven million students who borrow money to pay for school got some relief today. president obama signed a bill to keep the interest rates at 3.4%. it would have doubled had congress not passed an extension. even at the current rate, americans are piling up debt paying for college and elaine quijano reports it's not just for the students. >> reporter: laurie congdon and her husband never graduated college so they were determined to provide their son justin with the education they didn't have. two years ago, they proudly watched him graduate with a culinary degree from a local college. he got a job as a chef, but the bill left from his education was staggering. >> we owe $80,000 in parent loan student loan debt. >> reporter: when you hear that, say it outloud, $80,000, what goes through your mind? >> wow, $80,000, that's more than we paid for our home.

>> reporter: the congdon's decision to help their son start his life debt-free now threatens to destroy their comfortable middle-class life here in oswego, new york, where jim is the internet manager at a chevy dealership and laurie runs a web design company from home. >> it's going to take a ton of sacrifice on our part. >> reporter: from 2000 to 2011 average parent loan debt at graduation increased from almost $15,000 to nearly $34,000. during that same period, the percentage of parents taking out loans for their children rose from 10% to 17%. mark kantrowitz has studied college costs for almost 20 years. he says families must face tough new realities and make choices accordingly. >> total debt at graduation should be less than your annual starting salary and the same rule goes for the parents. they should borrow no more than they can afford to repay in ten years or by retirement, which ever comes first.

>> reporter: as for the congdons, they're facing an interest rate of 7.9% on their federal loan. >> i just think washington really needs to take a look at the forgotten class, the middle- class. there's great programs out there for poor folks and we won't even talk about the tax breaks for the high-income people because that's a whole other interview. we shouldn't be paying 8%, 10% interest on a student loan. shouldn't be. that's unacceptable. >> reporter: unless they receive help, the congdons will begin paying almost $1,000 a month on their parent loans in december. payments they will make for the next three decades-- well into their late 70s. elaine quijano, cbs news, oswego, new york. >> mason: a connecticut doctor plans to knock his medical school debt out of the park by auctions a home run ball hit by yankee great lou gehrig. michael gott says it's been in his family since the 1928 world series. he hopes it will sell for $200,000, about what he owes.

george zimmerman made bail today. the latest on his case next. ♪

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his legal fund. in north carolina, one executive had a $44 million payday. it happened this week when duke energy completed it takeover of progress energy. bill johnson was announced as the c.e.o., but one day later he was out with that eight-figure severance package. north carolina officials are considering an investigation. the italian artist caravaggio was known for his sprawling canvases and his brawling life- style. now an art world version of a barroom brawl is raging over the discovery of what could be early drawings by the master. two italian scholars claim they found sketches probably by caravaggio in a collection that belonged to his teacher. some experts doubt they're authentic. some pretty tough guys show their tender side-- all because of tony. steve hartman's "on the road" is next. [ male announcer ] considering all your mouth goes through,

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only your doctor can determine if your persistent heartburn is actually something more serious... like acid reflux disease. over time, stomach acid can damage the lining of your esophagus. for many, prescription nexium not only provides 24-hour heartburn relief, but can also help heal acid related erosions in the lining of your esophagus. talk to your doctor about the risk for osteoporosis-related bone fractures and low magnesium levels with long-term use of nexium. possible side effects include headache, diarrhea and abdominal pain. other serious stomach conditions may still exist. let your doctor do his job, and you do yours. ask if nexium is right for you. if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. >> >> finally tonight, a fire house

is a special place where the crew becomes one big family. but you don't have to answer the fire alarm to be part of that. as steve hartman learned on the road. >> fire station 1 in lansing michigan is not a restaurant but it does have a regular customer. >> here you go tony ... >> tony has a mental disability but definitely not an eating disability. he never misses a meal here. why should he? the firemen pay for his food and even provide transportation. and that is just a small sampling of the service that they provide him. tony has his own place but he premature just sleeps there. he also has his own job at a local farmers market but the pretty much just works there. otherwise he is at the station and has been six hours every day in nearly 365 days per year, for almost 60 years now. it was 1953 when, at the age of

13, 21 up to some firemen in the neighborhood. >> to date by you back to the station? >> yes. >> and you never left? >> no. >> what started as one act of kindness for a kid has clearly evolved into something much more. >> it is really special. i cannot put it into words. >> a lot of the guys either could not put it into words or use the same word ". >> he is like family ... >> family ... >> and they treat him like that. no coddling here. they play jokes on tony. like taking his team ... and tony will tease them right back. like when he calls the battalion chiefs his assistants. >> i just got demoted ... i will never get it straight. >> and the teasing continues. as he ages they have started to play another role. like the children of an

aging parents, they do his laundry and even gave him. >> if it were not here, what would your life like? >> i don't know ... >> you don't like thinking about that? >> no. >> fortunately he will never have to think about that. >> tony has a place here forever. >> all firefighters are heroes. but at station 1, they are before they ever leave the building. >> and that is tonight's cbs evening news. for scott pelly and all of us, i am anthony mason. thank you for watching. good night. >> good evening i am dana king, allen is on assignment. bleak. that is the word they use to

describe the jobs picture of the nation and that sparked a broad sell-off on wall street today. here are the numbers from the labor department. only 80,000 jobs were created in june and as far fewer than economists were expecting. i suppose the one bright spot is that the jobless rate remained unchanged. but here in the bay area of the jobs picture is a little brighter. cbs 5 reporter len ramirez shows us the local industry that is bucking the national trend. >> scaffolding overhead ... boots and shovels on the ground. a construction boom is buildings throughout the bay area with the south bay leading the way. >> silicon valley has more work than anywhere in the country. >> he is the president of the building trades council and is looking over a long list of major projects. the new 49ers stadium with workers as far as the eye can see is just one of them.